Why You Should Purposefully Bake Biscuits Too Close Together

When you bake treats like cookies, it's important to keep space between each one on a baking sheet so they don't run together during the cooking process. One exception to that baking rule is biscuits. You obviously don't want one large biscuit out of the oven, but luckily that's a mishap you don't have to worry about. To find out exactly why, we spoke with chef Jay Craddick, executive chef at Humble Baron located in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

"Biscuits touching in the pan helps give support to each biscuit to rise higher," the chef said. There's a rather simple reason why biscuits rise better together without any space between. As the biscuits bake against each other, they'll rise taller and evenly. The biscuits essentially support each other, so some don't rise more than the others or lose shape. Because you already shaped them separately beforehand, the buttery homemade biscuits will pull apart easily to serve and eat.

To make biscuits like chef Jay Craddick suggests, test out our fluffy Southern biscuit or buttermilk sweet corn biscuit recipes. When the dough is ready, the best option is to use a biscuit or cookie cutter so each one is the same size. The key to ensuring the biscuits touch is to use a baking sheet or pan that is the right size for the amount of biscuits you're making. Place each biscuit so that the sides are touching each other but that they're not overlapping or overcrowding the pan. Then cook them for about 15 minutes.

When the perfectly risen biscuits are out of the oven, let them cool. Then, it's time to eat. Of course, a classic option is to simply use strawberry jam, or you can use them to make a breakfast sandwich with bacon, sausage, or eggs. Out of bread? Make ham and cheese biscuits for tomorrow's lunch. Leftover biscuits also work well with sliders for an easy party appetizer, as a topping for casseroles, or turned into bread pudding or homemade croutons to go on top of a salad. Before you get started, remember to avoid the mistakes that everyone makes when baking biscuits, like over-mixing the dough.